Ok, so I have a Hobbit theme going. For some reason when I think of objectives I think of a "mission". Which leads me to think of Bilbo and the Dwarves trying to figure out how to deal with the pesky dragon. Much of the content in this lesson seemed very practical. Setting objectives by using words that focus on what students will be able to do makes sense. Layering these objectives in a way that reflects different degrees or depths of understanding also seems logical.
Yet...I've always struggled with the way that objectives and assessment close off students and teachers from the mystery of learning. I realize that on any journey a person is forced to take this path vs. that one. But how can objectives and forms of assessment prevent us from seeing that there might be other ways to go? That even though we as teachers want students to travel one way, they might discover another way that is important and interesting. How can objectives and assessment remain open to creativity and the insight of others? After all, it was Bilbo's ingenuity and willingness to think outside the box that helped him in his quest.
Love your Hobbit connection! :-D
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the objectives and assessments being a bit formal. I have wrestled with this in my own teaching practice (probably more in K-12 than in higher ed, honestly)--if I set these objectives, and if I am aiming for these assessments...can I still run down rabbit trails when that "teachable moment" appears? My answer, for now, is YES!
I actually had a great example of this in one of the online courses I was taking for my grade work last year. The LA Unified School District had recently announced that they were going 1:1 with iPad...for all 700,000 students in the district. (Yowza.) It was a perfect, authentic example for some of the edtech stuff we were going to be talking about in class, so our prof dropped his plan, changed things up, and rearranged his syllabus to have us address this real life example.
I would argue that he knew the objectives of the course well enough that he was able to be flexible when an important topic came up, and could change his plans. The assessments he had previously planned were not completed exactly as originally envisioned, but we were able to demonstrate what we had learned (that we had met his objectives for the course.)
So I hope that the objectives for the course, and the intended assessments will be a guide for learning--in my mind, that's their real purpose.
I'm repeating my recommendation to see "The Interview" that I mentioned earlier today, if only because James Franco's character shares a similar obsession with relating things to the Hobbit/LoTR.
ReplyDeleteI can resonate with your struggle with objectives, Jason. Poorly framed objectives can, indeed, take the mystery out of learning and direct students down a path that may not fit where they need to go to learn at a deep level. Carefully worded objectives, however, can allow for students to demonstrate learning through ways that fit their ingenuity and thinking outside the box...dare I say...even differentiated...
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